But with the Gunners having refound their form in recent weeks, and in the semi-finals of both the FA Cup and Champions League, Van Persie - who netted from the spot in Arsenal's 3-0 win against Villarreal on Wednesday - appears ready to commit his future to the club.

“We’ve had a couple of meetings now in a really positive atmosphere," he said.

"The main thing in these things is whether you both have the intention to extend but the way I see it is that we both have the intention to extend so there’s a big chance that I will stay.

“We are talking about a new deal, not now because as I read in the paper, the boss doesn’t want us to speak about it anymore. That’s his opinion, no problems with that. We’ll wait.

“We’ll go on with the meetings at the end of the season. I have a deal here, I do respect that and what happens after my deal I don’t know because we’re still talking.”